You are only taking one class.... It's no wonder you are getting an A!
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Ugg.... let me start out by saying this is by no means a slam at those of you taking more than one class..... I'm just venting here....
I am in Anatomy. Yes... it is my ONLY class. But.... I... Read More

I'll be honest, I find it offensive to people that say, "I did what was required to get A's anyway", as if those of us who didn't were slackers. If doing what it takes includes never getting to see my daughter and leaving her with a daycare provider her every waking hour so I can get the study time in that is required when taking a difficult courseload, then you are right: I'm not prepared to make her life inferior in order to make mine better, but hey, there are people out there willing to sacrifice anything and ANYONE to make it work.

You are right that it is a choice, but I still maintain, that if you took a survey of students that were dismissed from nursing program, I guarantee that the overwhelming majority were part-time or less prior to starting the program and/or had never attended college full-time. The GPA is supposed to be a predictor of how well you will do in the nursing program...it's not supposed to be used as a lottery ticket. If you find a way to trump the system, the students who are dismissed should not be suprised when it doesn't work to their advantage or they 'drop' a grade or two.

Sorry if my post offended you. Your assumption that people making "A's" are leaving their kids for the daycare system to raise is far more insulting. That is not the way that I raise my daughter, I personally don't need "every waking" hour to study in order to make good grades. Perhaps you do, you can infer what you want to from that. In that case you will need a different set up than I did. Personally at my school they did a study over the last 10 years and found that the reasons people failed our program were not class loads (yes that was addressed), but rather science class grades. Those that did well in the A&P, Micro, Nutrition, Chem classes were the ones who went on to do well in the nursing classes. Not every program is the same however, perhaps your program has a different pattern for the people who have failed. Obviously it is a culture shock for someone used to taking 1 class to go up to full time classes, however most of the people that I know also dropped work, and other time consuming activites once they were in the program so this extra work was offset by the extra time available to them now. Again though, why is it anyone elses business how someone chooses to set up their class loads? Unless your school frowns heavily on those taking one class at a time, then it really makes no difference if someone chooses to do it. Those that choose not to take one class at a time, have to "do what is required" to make the grades to get in, otherwise they are wasting their time.

Nov 15, '06

I am one of those "planners", who are taking one class at a time. I started 3 years ago when my daughter was one. I knew I did'nt want to be in the nursing program until both my kids were in school. I started in math 90 and am now one class away from applying for next falls program. I just knew I did'nt wan't to abrupt my family any more than I had to, while the kids were young and I knew how much time the nursing program would take away from them once I started. You do what you believe is best for your family, these are decisions men don't really have to make, oh well. And yea, I have all A's and don't regret any of this journey.

Nov 15, '06

I'm really puzzled by the attitudes displayed in this thread. I swear, we women (in general) tend to seek out things to be offended by. We assume way too much from likely innocent comments/venting. And we appear to need constant validation. What's up with that?

Really, if ya worry about yourself, disconcern yourself with what others around you are doing, and do as best you can given what you've got to work with, why get THAT upset when someone (possibly) implies differently? If you're secure enough with yourself, wonky comments should just roll off your back.

Sorry if my post offended you. Your assumption that people making "A's" are leaving their kids for the daycare system to raise is far more insulting. That is not the way that I raise my daughter, I personally don't need "every waking" hour to study in order to make good grades. Perhaps you do, you can infer what you want to from that. In that case you will need a different set up than I did. Personally at my school they did a study over the last 10 years and found that the reasons people failed our program were not class loads (yes that was addressed), but rather science class grades. Those that did well in the A&P, Micro, Nutrition, Chem classes were the ones who went on to do well in the nursing classes. Not every program is the same however, perhaps your program has a different pattern for the people who have failed. Obviously it is a culture shock for someone used to taking 1 class to go up to full time classes, however most of the people that I know also dropped work, and other time consuming activites once they were in the program so this extra work was offset by the extra time available to them now. Again though, why is it anyone elses business how someone chooses to set up their class loads? Unless your school frowns heavily on those taking one class at a time, then it really makes no difference if someone chooses to do it. Those that choose not to take one class at a time, have to "do what is required" to make the grades to get in, otherwise they are wasting their time.

We have an ADN program at our school. it is believed that the reason why people either struggle or fail in our particular nursing school is the "quality" of the pre-nursing science classes. People from other schools don't necessarily learn what they need to know in their opinion. Our school actually prefers that we take the science classes at our school. You can go to school all day....take a million credit hours but if you are not learning what you should it doesn't do you any good, don't matter at what pace.

We have an ADN program at our school. it is believed that the reason why people either struggle or fail in our particular nursing school is the "quality" of the pre-nursing science classes. People from other schools don't necessarily learn what they need to know in their opinion. Our school actually prefers that we take the science classes at our school. You can go to school all day....take a million credit hours but if you are not learning what you should it doesn't do you any good, don't matter at what pace.

This actually is true at our school as well. We have a top rated program, and Our head A&P professor is part of the committee that writes the core curriculum for the national exit tests etc... I do find that those that took their sciences elsewhere struggle more, but not necessarily to the point of failure. The science GPA is weighted far more heavily than the cummulative GPA now for admissions. I agree that it doesn't matter how you pace your learning. Everyone knows the selection criteria. Using that we can all see the advantages and disadvantages of going slow or going fast. We are all adults and can make the correct decisions for our families. Taking a snail's pace or a rocket's pace through the prereqs doesn't matter. Just understand the material.

Sorry if my post offended you. Your assumption that people making "A's" are leaving their kids for the daycare system to raise is far more insulting. That is not the way that I raise my daughter, I personally don't need "every waking" hour to study in order to make good grades. Perhaps you do, you can infer what you want to from that. In that case you will need a different set up than I did. Personally at my school they did a study over the last 10 years and found that the reasons people failed our program were not class loads (yes that was addressed), but rather science class grades. Those that did well in the A&P, Micro, Nutrition, Chem classes were the ones who went on to do well in the nursing classes. Not every program is the same however, perhaps your program has a different pattern for the people who have failed. Obviously it is a culture shock for someone used to taking 1 class to go up to full time classes, however most of the people that I know also dropped work, and other time consuming activites once they were in the program so this extra work was offset by the extra time available to them now. Again though, why is it anyone elses business how someone chooses to set up their class loads? Unless your school frowns heavily on those taking one class at a time, then it really makes no difference if someone chooses to do it. Those that choose not to take one class at a time, have to "do what is required" to make the grades to get in, otherwise they are wasting their time.

I never said that people that are making "A"s are leaving their kids in daycare...to take the full course load I was taking, I didn't have enough time to study enough when I was taking 4 tests EVERY SINGLE DAY..in order to get more time, you need to create more time, and in my case, creating more time would mean not taking care of my daughter AT ALL, because in order to make an A every single day, that is how much reading and retention was required. I'm not talking about short 10 question quizzes, I'm talking about 25 to 30 question tests that were detailed where the material wasn't went over by the professor so you had to teach it to yourself.

YOU are the one that posted "whatever it takes" to get an A and I'm just telling you that, and in some cases "whatever it takes" is impossible with certain class loads, and that you IMPLIED THAT IT WAS 100% POSSIBLE 100% OF THE TIME and that is just NOT TRUE.

That is what was offensive about your post.

Last edit by BSNtobe2009 on Nov 15, '06

Nov 15, '06

Anyway...

People should do what best for themselves, be it part-time full time, or one at a time. Doing one or the others does not make anyone else more worthy of being in the program, or less deserving, a bad parent or super parent, etc. etc., although what one chooses to do or get is no one else's business, nor is it anyone else's place to condemn or condone.

:stone

Last edit by Marie_LPN, RN on Nov 15, '06
: Reason: sheesh

Nov 15, '06

Sorry, but I think taking one class at a time will result in getting a Easy A.Yes you have to work hard for that A, but you still have plenty of time and energy to focus on that one class.I would give much more credit to those who went to school full time and got a 3.5 than a student who only took one class a semester and got a A.Imagine this, someone taking 3-4 classes might study 1 hr for each course which totals up to about 3-4 hours of study per day.Now, a student only taking one class can dedicate 3-4 hours of study only for that one class, which makes the probability of getting a A very high.Just my 2 cents.LOL

I never said that people that are making "A"s are leaving their kids in daycare...to take the full course load I was taking, I didn't have enough time to study enough when I was taking 4 tests EVERY SINGLE DAY..in order to get more time, you need to create more time, and in my case, creating more time would mean not taking care of my daughter AT ALL, because in order to make an A every single day, that is how much reading and retention was required. I'm not talking about short 10 question quizzes, I'm talking about 25 to 30 question tests that were detailed where the material wasn't went over by the professor so you had to teach it to yourself.

YOU are the one that posted "whatever it takes" to get an A and I'm just telling you that, and in some cases "whatever it takes" is impossible with certain class loads, and that you IMPLIED THAT IT WAS 100% POSSIBLE 100% OF THE TIME and that is just NOT TRUE.
That is what was offensive about your post.

Except that is NOT what I said. I said I did "what was required", not "whatever it takes". Please do not put words in my mouth. If you want to be ticked off because others are doing it one class at a time, that is certainly your right. Have fun with that. There are people who take one class at a time to get good grades, there are people who retake the same class 3 times to get a good grade, there are people who take classes only with certain professors because they know the tests won't change and they can get info about them from students who already took the class... and get a good grade, there are students who have no other responsibilities and live and home and don't work and so they can get good grades and blah blah blah. None of it is going to matter in most cases, if the selection committee doesn't care about these things and puts everyones grades on a level playing field, then your job is to meet or exceed everybody else's stats. The best way to get into nursing school is to worry about yourself and making yourself the most attractive candidate. You can't do anything about other people and their choices, so why concern yourself with it?

Nov 15, '06

Silly me, I've been taking two classes at a time while working b/c each science was a prereq for the next. I can't wait until I can get into the nursing program and have to quit my job so I can study full time. I really want to take a full course load and finish faster, they just wouldn't let me! I find it really strange how people get so judgemental about others. We all go to school at whatever pace is available to us, whether single, married, living at home, working, or not; and probably all complete the program as fast as we possibly can given our circumstances. We're all just looking towards passing the NCLEX and getting a good job someday that we'll actually enjoy (we hope)...

Silly me, I've been taking two classes at a time while working b/c each science was a prereq for the next. I can't wait until I can get into the nursing program and have to quit my job so I can study full time. I really want to take a full course load and finish faster, they just wouldn't let me! I find it really strange how people get so judgemental about others. We all go to school at whatever pace is available to us, whether single, married, living at home, working, or not; and probably all complete the program as fast as we possibly can given our circumstances. We're all just looking towards passing the NCLEX and getting a good job someday that we'll actually enjoy (we hope)...

....And most of all we all want to learn the right things. I think it is most important to have adequate knowledge as a nurse so that we won't kill someone. What a wonderul combination....smart enough to NOT kill someone, working a job that we love and a NICE paycheck...it doesn't get any better than that.

Nicoleg is very, very correct. If you have never attended college on a full-time basis, you are in for a major shock as far as workload.

I'm not sure if you are speaking to me here or not, but.... I have a BS degree (I think I mentioned that in my OP), I took anywhere from 12-20 credits per quarter for 4 1/4 yrs. I graduated with a 3.2 GPA (not great, but not too terrible), and I can still remember (even though it's been a few years), how much work it was. I will not be in for a major shock once I start NS. I actually will have all of my courses completed except for my Nursing courses so my credit load will only be 8 credits per semester. And I know I can handle that as my children will all be in school full time during the day. As of right now, I have a 2nd grader, a MWF preschooler (only in the PM) and a baby. I'm pecking away at it the best I can. I'm fully aware of what it is going to require of me once I start full time.

This is not to scare you, but just keep in mind, that any of your prereqs classes can not compare to the NS classes. Nursing program is a fixed program and you can't choose to take only one class. Depending on your school it can be as many as 7 to 15 units at one time. What are you going to do if you have this big of a load? And the classes are completely different. The anatomy will seem like an easy course in comparison to the nursing courses. While I was taking my prereqs, I had A's, but in a NS its different. No matter how hard you try you get either A-, B+ or B's. In my fundamentals class there is not one person who had an A.

By the time I finish my pre-reqs I will have all 3 children in school, full-time during the day. My husbands job will not require him to travel anymore, and my mom will be retired (to help out with baby-sitting)...

I have my degree so I have all my courses complete except for the specific pre-reqs for NS. And I will not even apply for NS until those are all completed. So the most semester credits I will be taking is 8/semester. That is what I'm going to do.